City of Hoopeston Citizen Advisory Committee met Sep. 12.
Here are the minutes provided by the committee:
The Citizens Advisory Committee met on Monday, September 12th. The meeting was called to order at 7:07pm. There were 12 of 19 members present. Jones, Furrow, Wilson, Ponto, Highfill, Ramos, Baker, Andre, Kelnhofer, Inman, Moore, and McCord.
There were no public comments
Proposed Meeting Schedule was approved. Meeting 3rd Monday of each moth through May 2023.
Jones spoke about the removal of geese at McFerren park due to excessive fecal matter on and around the playground and the basketball courts. Jones will contact the DNR and Urbana Park district to take note of procedures that can be taken for the removal of them and report to the park alderman.
Highfill spoke about speeding on 6th Avenue. Jones discussed to the committee that this is a legal issue and that the police will need to be called and a report made. Jones also mentioned that neighbors on that block could call and request additional patrol at specific hours if this is an ongoing issue at specific times.
Furrow spoke about putting our McFerren Park to use more. Creating a Fall Festival and utilizing the civic center and park space was an agreement that the committee said they’d like to see come to light next year. Also mentioned was a town wide sale at McFerren. The Committee will be putting together some ideas and will provide this information to the council for a vote to move forward on. Furrow also brought up the idea of utilizing the Annex for some youth motor cross. Jones will be in contact with the park alderman and The Jaycees to see about making movement on this idea and seeing if its an option.
Ramos McCord & Wilson spoke about the homeless issue in our community and the committee agreed as a whole this is a huge problem in our community and those communities around us. Jones will be reporting back to the committee on The Neighborhood Watch Program, Trespassing Ordinance and The Loitering Ordinance at the next meeting in October. The committee will also be discussing different suggestions for a resolution for the homelessness to take to the council at a future meeting.
Mills brought to the council the suggestion for new Annex bleachers because they are in terrible shape. Jones commented that the bleachers have been spoke about at previous council meetings and that she will forward this concern to the city council and park alderman for discussion and movement.
Andre spoke about the bathroom and kitchen update at the Civic Center. These have needed updated for many years. Jones commented that this is in the works and has been brought up to the city council and the park alderman is aware of the need for updates and movement is happening, just slow movement until it can be budgeted and started which shouldn’t be too long.
Scharlach brought up the topic of the sidewalks ordinance. Jones commented that there is an ordinance that says if there is a sidewalk, you must not walk in the road. Jones suggested the committee bring suggestions to the October meeting to propose ideas to the council to better assist in amending the sidewalk ordinance regarding broken sidewalks, toys on sidewalks and cars blocking sidewalks.
Kelnhofer spoke about sprucing up the downtown and involving the downtown businesses in doing so. The committee came up with some ideas to increase funding in the civics budget for flower pots for Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter planting as well as new Christmas decorations on the poles downtown. The current ones are outdated and not as bright and cheerful.
Archer brought up several suggestions for our hometown and working with the city council on their prioritized goals for the city. The committee will discuss more suggestions at our October meeting.
Murphy brought up drag racing on Man Street. Jones commented that this is a legal issue and residents need to get descriptions of vehicles and call it in to police every time. Jones also suggested that the request for police presence be done at the specific hours this is happening.
Ponto spoke about lighting on Penn Street & Dixie Highway. There is lack of lighting at this area and the concern for an accident is very high. Jones commented that she will contact the street and alley department and put in the request for Ameren to be reached and additional lighting put in that area for safety reasons. This discussion will be visited again at our October meeting.
Jones thanked the committee for their responses within emails and messages prior to the first meeting being held an was thankful for everyone coming in September. She reminded the committee of deadlines for requests due to agenda being posted in a timely manner and noted the next meeting will be on October 17th at 7:00pm.
In other business:
*Loitering Ordinance, Trespassing ordinance, Noise Ordinance and shipping container ordinance was discussed. The committee will be working on proposed amendments to the council for these.
*Discussed creating a committee for downtown and members will bring ideas to next CAC meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 8:39pm
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